Public Health Regulations and Policies Dealing with Preparedness and Emergency Management: The Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

Worldwide, the management of health emergencies requires a high degree of preparednessand resilience on the part of governments and health systems. Indeed, disasters are becomingincreasingly common, with significant health, social, and economic impacts. Living in a globalizedworld also means that emergencies that occur in one country often have an international, in somecases global, spread: the COVID-19 pandemic is a cogent example. The key elements in emergencymanagement are central governance, coordination, investment of resources before the emergencyoccurs, and preparedness to deal with it at all levels. However, several factors might conditionthe response to the emergency, highlighting, as for Italy, strengths and weaknesses. In this context,policies and regulation of actions to be implemented at international and national level must beup-to-date, clear, transparent and, above all, feasible and implementable. Likewise, the allocationof resources to develop adequate preparedness plans is critical. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, theEuropean Commission proposed the temporary recovery instrument NextGenerationEU, as well asa targeted reinforcement of the European Union’s long-term budget for the period 2021–2027. Thepandemic highlighted that it is necessary to interrupt the continuous defunding of the health sector,allocating funds especially in prevention, training and information activities: indeed, a greater andmore aware public attention on health risks and on the impacts of emergencies can help to promotevirtuous changes, sharing contents and information that act as a guide for the population.